Reading and understanding result on urine test strips.

[merrymunky]

Hi all,

So I am new to the world of type 2 diabetes. At my first education session today we were given a tub of urine test strips to use daily until our next session.

Now I understand the obvious, do the test, compare colour on strip to side of the tub. Negative is yellow zone, green stones indicate sugar in urine. However I don’t know what the numerical scales above each colour actually mean and how severe each one is. My reading was in the 8.2 colour zone today. Not the darkest but still fairly dark in the scheme of things.

Can anyone explain how these strips really work and what the result mean in terms of severity of sugar in the urine? I only started on metformin just over a week ago and I know the effects are minimal and that the dietary changes will be the most beneficial in reducing my levels at the next hba1c test. How quickly could I expect to see the colour getting lighter on these strips? I know it will vary on time of day and food content etc. I understand they give a reading for the last 6 hours or so.

 

[trophywench]

I can't help at all with urine strips - haven't used any since the early 1970s. However it was always my understanding that glucose didn't spill over into pee until the blood glucose was the equivalent of 11.0 + on a glucose monitor.

 

[trophywench]

You'd do far better investing in a fingerprick blood testing machine and strips so you can test how much of what you can safely eat and what you need to cut down on - or cut out completely. By getting your BG down to a more 'normal' level and keeping it there are thereabouts - you are also much more likely to have success and a happy outcome on the other front too!

Can someone please post links to the SD Codefree and Alan S, please?

Good luck!

 

[Ljc]

Sorry I can’t help with those urine test sticks either since my dx 23ish yrs ago I’ve never used them.
Like @trophywench I thought that glucose wasn’t passed into urine till your BG s (blood glucose) was over 10.0

The SD Codefree that TW mentioned that many T2s on here use, is one of the cheapest ones to self fund the ongoing cost of the test strips , @round £8 for a pot of 50 where high street brands are well over £15
Only available online , either directly from Homehealth sorry I’ve lost the link for that one or from
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codefree-Glucose-Monitor-Monitoring-Testing/dp/B0068JAJFS/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1506485682&sr=1-1&keywords=sd+codefree+meter+mmol/l&linkCode=sl1&tag=xfm-21&linkId=f39210144fdc26c27738e45b6d957003&th=1. You’ll need to buy more test strips and a box of lancets as you only get 10 of each in starter packs.

This blog by Alan S explains the way we use them to see how the various carbohydrates affect us, so we can make informed choices on any changes needed
test-review-adjust.

I hope you find the course helpful and informative

 

[merrymunky]

You'd do far better investing in a fingerprick blood testing machine and strips so you can test how much of what you can safely eat and what you need to cut down on - or cut out completely. By getting your BG down to a more 'normal' level and keeping it there are thereabouts - you are also much more likely to have success and a happy outcome on the other front too!

Can someone please post links to the SD Codefree and Alan S, please?

Good luck!

I may well donat some point but we have been asked to test daily for the next month and take the results sheet to our next session.

I just wish they would explain the readings for us. I know the obvious but I don’t know how severe the level of glucose in urine is for each step on the chart. Google is little help either.

I understand my actual hba1c readings now but I don’t know how these compare and when to start worrying if the levels don’t drop.

We have been asked to test at different times of the day. Yesterday lunchtime I was 8.3mmol/l and this morning I am 2.8mmol/l.

 

[Ljc]

The Hb1ac is a totally different measurement from our regular fingerpicks. This is a conversion chart between Hb1ac and our fingerpricks .
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=h...8&hl=en-gb&client=safari#imgrc=HxqRynLp9hELKM:

 

[Docb]

My guess, and it is only a guess, is that your course leaders are using the urine test strip to introduce the course members to the idea of testing and they are using urine test strips (cheap and easy) because maybe some of the course memberes are not as quick on the uptake as you!

As I understand it, the urine test is very crude and does not say a lot about your actual blood glucose at any given point in time. OK if you turn up in your GP surgery for the first time with a stack of symptoms and they want a fast check to see if high blood glucose might be the cause, and that further testing is warranted. They can also do some other dip tests for other things at the same time.

Finger prick testing measures the glucose concentration in the drop of blood you get when you prick your finger. It tells you what the state of affairs is at that moment. The thing about them is that, at least for me, the readings fly around depending on what I have eaten and when and it is not easy see the overal picture. I am a bit of a number nerd, it's what I did for the bulk of my working life, so I have a spreadsheet where I input the data and plot out some graphs. I can use these to smooth out some of the variability to see the effect of changes in medication or routine. Helps a lot when consulting medics!

The HBa1c measurement is an interesting measurement because it measures glucose that has attached to the hemoglobin in your system and gives a measure of how well controlled your blood glucose levels have been over the last three months or so, the life of hemoglobin in the system.

So in summary, urine strips quick and crude; finger pricking to see how things are really going on a day to day basis - essential for type 1 and very helpful for managing type 2 when contol is poor; HBa1c for long term trends, good for annual monitoring a diabetic where control is good. Using one test to to say something about what the others might say is fraut with difficulty.

Hopfully your next session will enlighten you but if it does not then ask questions.

PS to the more experienced on here....If my understand needs modifying then feel free to chip in, I am still learning about this stuff.

 

[Drummer]

I was given a tub of the urine test strips - never saw anything but negative and the only use I got out of the remainder was to check if I'd been given diet drinks or not - it is surprising how casually bar staff will present a diabetic with a pint of sugar water.
I would recommend getting a cheap to use meter so you get an instantaneous reading of your situation.
Eating low carb can make all the difference to blood glucose - I went from fully diabetic to normal readings very quickly once I saw under 8mmol/l after meals

 

[mikeyB]

For the time being, just carry on doing what they asked you to do. As TW says, it’s only when your BG is above 10 or so that glucose appears in the urine. They will know that, so it will be a very crude measure of those who aren’t well controlled. Don’t mention blood testing, let them bring it up.

Also, your urine changes in concentration during the day. So in the morning, even though a highish BG might have happened in the night, it will show in the morning urine. After two coffees and a fag, it will be more dilute and won’t show anything,

The main reason diabetics take urine samples to appointments is for looking at renal function.

 

[Drummer]

I changed my diet to low carb foods from the moment I was diagnosed. Before the last of the three 'education' sessions I was no longer in the diabetic range Hba1c went from 91 to 47 in 80 days. The advice to have baked potatoes and baked beans fell upon deaf ears and a disbelieving grin.
I was not popular but oh was I smug. I was also really concerned about the poor couple who were obviously so so worried and got the same advice. I managed to speak to them after the second session, but of course low carb was flying in the teeth of all that they had been told, and they did not appear again.